


A Cruise Fit for a King

by madmongoose5876



Category: Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts (Cartoon)
Genre: Action/Adventure, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, hugo lives
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-09
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-13 08:47:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,053
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28650771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madmongoose5876/pseuds/madmongoose5876
Summary: Instead of crashing at Skyscraper Ridge, Hugo's flamingo falls in the other direction and is lost at sea. As Kipo and Co. search for him, he must survive until he can find land. And when he does, he must find someone willing to help him get back home. Meanwhile, Emilia isn't as incapacitated as previously thought.
Relationships: Kipo Oak & Scarlemagne | Hugo, Scarlemagne | Hugo/Original Character(s)
Kudos: 7





	1. Chapter 1

“Hugo!”

A tiny nose poked from underneath the starry, blue blanket in the corner of the room, and little Hugo sprang out with an excited chatter, barreling on all fours to Lio, who caught the rambunctious baby mandrill in his arms.

“We brought a new friend to play with,” Song entered the room behind her husband and in her arms was what looked to be a ball of black and gray fur. She leaned to set on the ground a hyena cub not much bigger than tiny monkey himself.

The cub immediately bounded over to curiously paw at Lio’s leg, who leaned to place Hugo down next to the strange, new creature. He hid behind Lio at first, head peeking from between the human’s feet.

“Oh, now you wanna act shy…” Lio chuckled, peering down as the hyena cub trotted closer, cackling in an unfamiliar, but not so different sound than what Hugo might have made. He leaned back as the cub sniffed at him, then nearly toppled backwards when she gave his nose a lick.

Both humans laughed as Hugo regained his footing before chattering happily, and running to tackle his new playmate. The two wrestled and tumbled together as if they had been the same species, even from the same litter all along.

~*~*~*~

The first thing Hugo registered as he awakened was the metallic taste in his mouth. Slowly regaining consciousness, he noticed the pounding in his head and instantly regretted opening his eyes, almost yelping as the blinding sun sent a shock to his temples.

“Ugh! -cough! cough! HACK!”

The mandrill choked on the liquid running down his throat, wiping his nose to find it bleeding, and quickly fidgeted around the seat of the car to retrieve something to clean himself with. In his stupor, he grabbed for the fabric he suddenly felt beneath his fingers and began soaking the blood up, only to realized what it was with a shriek.

“Star blanket?! NO!!” He barely began whooping in anger before grabbing his aching head, “Augh!” He stopped to calm himself and let his eyes adjust to the light, but once he was able to see, he wished he could have slipped back into the feverish dream he had awoken from.

As far as he could see, in every possible direction, was absolutely nothing but open water. Open ocean.

He clutched the now soiled blanket to his chest, crumpling back into his seat, “Oh, no! Oh, no-no-no-NO-NO!! ACH!!” He shook his head, grasping his temples in pain again, “Ugh! I can’t even have a proper tantrum! This is hardly fair!”

He straightened himself, inhaling deeply and exhaling, “Really, Hugo…we MUST keep our composure,” he smoothed out his ruffled coat, fixing the blanket back around his neck so that the bloodied spot didn’t show, “There must be a way out of this…no reason to get all in a state,” he frowned toward the direction he imagined he had drifted from.

That was when the sound of bubbles from beneath the car had Hugo jerking his head toward the dash, and his heart dropped. The black heap that was his mega flamingo hung limp through the hood of the car.

“Marie!” He nudged the neck to his right, before doing the same to the left, “Antoinette!” His lip trembled, and he wiped his nose again, surprised at himself for the emotion he felt for what he had at one time looked on as nothing more than a weapon and mode of transportation. “I’m sorry, girls…”

He remained tight lipped for several seconds before glancing back up to the gently rippling tides, “Surely Kipo and the others will find me…how far could I possibly have drifted in only a few hours?”

He sat behind the wheel, hands gripping it absentmindedly, and his solemn expression slowly became a pained smile. Colliding into Dr. Emilia’s mega form had stopped her. Kipo had won; that much he remembered. And that was all that mattered.


	2. Chapter 2

“Ya see anything, Jamack?!”

The amphibian sighed with a shake of his head, “I really hate to say it, kid, but there’s no matching a frog’s eyes to a jaguar’s. If you’re not seeing anything, there’s no way I am.”

Kipo snarled, resisting the urge to go full mute, and taking the reigns, guided their dragonfly down to the ship below. They were still a good twenty feet above the deck when she dismounted, landing on four paws before completely demuting.

“This makes no sense! I know Scarlemagne’s still out there; there’s no way he could have drifted this far already!”

Wolf leapt onto the boat from the waves below as the narwhal she had been riding dove down to patrol the ocean floor for the twelfth time that day.

“Anything?”

Wolf glanced from beneath curly hair with a slow shake of her head.

Kipo exhaled unsteadily, and sunk to sit on the step behind her, “This can’t be right!”

Her gaze drifted over her friends, Benson and Dave’s usually happy, encouraging faces awash with hopelessness, Wolf’s determined eyes now avoiding her’s. Her parents, both with tears already welling in their eyes.

“He can’t have…” Kipo pressed the heel of her palm to her eye.

Song sat next to her daughter followed by Lio, each embracing her from either side.

“Scarlemagne is still out there, mom! I know he’s still out there all alone AGAIN, and I can’t help him!”

“I know, honey. I know,” she brushed the hair from Kipo’s eyes, “We’re not gonna give up yet. We promise.”

“That’s right,” Lio gave his daughter’s shoulder a squeeze, “He IS family. If he’s out there, we’ll find him.”

~*~*~*~

Hugo had managed to wedge himself into the floor of the back seat, both front seats leaned back and his star blanket draped between them to shade himself from the blistering heat. He had been adrift for three days now, and while he was aware that a mandrill could go quite some time without food or water, the lavish lifestyle he had previously treated himself to certainly didn’t make the drastic shift any more pleasant, even after months of living in a cage.

He had pried a cup holder lining from the center console to set out in case it happened to rain, but ocean water, he quickly found, would not be an option. He couldn’t even be comforted by the playing of his piano. The pressing of a key resulted in a dull, stunted DONK, hardly a sound suitable for his usual concertos.

Hugo shuddered with a groan, holding his aching, growling stomach, then sighed dramatically, “Is this really how the great Scarlemagne is to exit this life? At least being left to be cast in molten gold would have been more dignified.”

The thought had crossed his mind to make a meal of his dear, deceased pet, but he found himself unable to bring himself to it. The opportunity was long past for that he was sure, sitting out to bake in the sun for three days would not have done nice things to the flesh left behind.

Whether it was the hunger, the heat, or the boredom, Hugo burst from beneath the seats, sending them forward into the piano with a loud BA-TWANG as he leapt onto the backs of them. “If I don’t get some form of sustenance RIGHT-NOW, a am going to LOSE MY-”

He was cut off by a splash from just in front of him, and he jolted back to some semblance of sane thinking to peer into the water. Nibbling at the damp feathers of his flamingo were many decently sized fish. Koi, by the looks of them, each with two dorsal fins, six pectorals, and eyes lining all the way down each side.

Hugo raised a brow, “Did I just accidentally pray?” he shrugged with a mumble, “Well I suppose I see why the ancient humans did it so much, it’s quite cathartic…”

He was about to grab for one before he halted. Even his former self, bent on absolute authority over both mute and human kind would never have considered devouring a sentient mute. And now, even a creature with similar intelligence to Mondu felt like pushing it. So peaking over the windshield, he cleared his throat.

“Excuse me! You fishes there!” he cupped his hands around his mouth, “CAN YOU UNDERSTAND ME?!!”

Seeing the lack of reaction, he began cautiously making his way over the windshield, “Ok…last opportunity to speak up!”

A couple darted around at the vibrations of him having shaken the floating vehicle, but they quickly came to settle again to nibble on the carcass before them.

Hugo gritted his teeth, “Well…nothing ventured, nothing gained, I suppose…” he loomed above the feeding school, wriggling fingers above them and locking eyes on one to snatch up as quickly as possible.

“AHAH!!”

He had been so intent on lashing out with as much speed as possible, he hadn’t thought about keeping his balance, and before he knew it, he was underwater, salt stinging both nose and eyes.

“ACH! BLECH!! PFF!!” he sputtered, as he reached the surface of the water, shaking his mane with a fit of coughing.

Eyes and nose burning, he made to swim toward the car before he felt a sharp pinch at his side and shrieked. Then another at his ankle, then another at the back of his neck, and soon he was surrounded by tiny biting mouths.

“ACH! Cut that OUT!!,” he scrambled to escape the nibble attack he had found himself under, and eventually, he managed to haul himself back into the cab.

He quickly found that rubbing his eyes made the stinging worse, so he settled on fluttering them in an attempt to rid them of the salt. As the burning began to subside, and he could open his eyes properly, he glanced at his foot.

“Oh! It seems someone was a bit of an eager beaver!” He reached to remove the flopping fish that had a grip of the pointed heal of his shoe, and held it up to face level. “Alright, flopsy, one last chance to beg for your life!”

He was answered with yet a second face full of seawater as the little fish unleashed a stream from its mouth with an impressive amount of force. With an insulted gasp, Hugo shook the fish spittle from his person before baring his teeth over his prey with a snarl to take a bite. But before fangs could make contact with scales, a piercing scream sent daggers through his eardrums, and he dropped his prey to cover them.

The fish flopped erratically in the passengers seat before falling to the floor, all the while emitting the high pitched squeal, and soon, the surrounding fish had joined in.

“RRRGH!” Hugo grabbed the slippery nuisance by the tail and raised it over his head, “SHUT! UP!”

He reared back to throw it, but was nearly knocked off his feet as something massive jostled the car. He caught himself against the door, losing the little fish over the side. As he followed his retreating prey with his eyes, he noticed that the water in the distance seemed unusually dark, and it only took a second after that dark water had started to draw closer for him to realize that these tiny fish weren’t his only company.

Two tall, orange and white dorsal fins cut through the waves, rushing his way at ramming speed.

“NononoNONOO!!” Hugo hunkered down in the floorboards just as the biggest koi fish he had ever seen in his life leapt over him, a row of black eyes along its side staring him down as it passed over him.

“Oh, dear,” was all he could squeak out before finally regaining use of his legs and scrambling to find something to defend himself with. He opened the glovebox only for a pile of pink, flamingo shaped air fresheners to spill out over the floor.

“Well, now I know where those went…”

He jerked his head around as the multi-eyed creature turned back his way with a screech he could swear caused him to temporarily lose hearing in his left ear, and with eyes darting back to scan for a weapon, his gaze landed on the gear shift. Grabbing it, he braced a foot against the dash and pulled with all his strength. From the corner of his eye, he could see the orange fins of the mega koi slice through the surface, and pink sweat poured from the struggling mandrill’s forehead.

“OOOOOOO!!!!” He braced for impact, then felt himself topple backwards as the metal bar ripped from its socket. When his back hit the back seat, he was face to gleaming, black eye with the mega koi.

The gargantuan fish wriggled it’s head closer, toothless jaw snapping in an attempt to snap him up whole, and Hugo shuffled to reach for the broken lever at his side.

“I suppose you would be dear ol’ mum, then…” He gripped his weapon tight. He only had one shot.

The gapping maw opened once. Twice. And on the third opening, Hugo shoved the jagged metal bar into the roof of its mouth. His ears rang at the roaring shriek that assaulted his ears again, and he attempted to move along with the thrashing head as it clamped onto his arm, threatening to snap it.

It took only seven seconds for the monstrous creature to go limp, but it seemed a lot longer when one’s arm was trapped in a large fish’s mouth. Hugo pried the heavy jaws open and freed his now saliva covered arm with a grimace, dislodging his makeshift weapon.

“My sincerest apologies, mumsy, but if anyone will be eating today, it’s going to be me.”

He stood in the seat, a little wobbly at first, and examined his quarry. This would last him a good while if he could preserve the meat well. Perhaps the dash would get hot enough to cook some. But he wasn’t about to wait for that now.

“Ugh…the smell of the sea really does revolt me…” he glanced down at the gear shift, and wiped it with his sleeve, “…but I’m afraid it’s going to be mega koi tartare for maaany meals to come…”


	3. Chapter 3

It had been three weeks…

Or it would be in four minutes and thirty-two seconds. Kipo had kept track.

There were days when her parents would insist on her helping with some of the rebuilding that was starting to happen around Las Vistas or going to Eyeball Woods to train with the Chevra Sisters. But it was constantly in the back of her mind and more often in the front. Not knowing was the part that was killing her. She would never speak the words out loud, but there was that nettling scratch that more and more often suggested to her that Hugo was gone. Forever.

For the first time just two days ago, the intrusive thought came to her that it would have been easier if he had, one hundred percent known to her, died that night. That thought had terrified her, made her feel awful about herself. How could a person think that way? How could SHE think that way? About her brother who she loved?

She stayed muted to some degree more and more now. The raw instinct of the jaguar made it easier to drown out pain. In the little free time she had, she would go to the valley in her mega jaguar form and roughhouse with the mega dog pack. Though even that turned bitter-sweet when she had accidentally put a scratch across the Rottweiler’s nose when she had lost herself a bit too much.

Today, she had insisted on accompanying the search. She would rather have to actively think about her missing brother than to be forced to bottle it up inside again.

The sun was already nearly touching the horizon, and the entire party was exhausted, awash with a melancholy ambiance.

“We’ll try again tomorrow, Kipo,” Benson placed a hand on her shoulder, which she squeezed appreciatively with hers, her eyes closing to let tears flow down her cheeks. She felt Wolf’s hand on her other arm, and she couldn’t stop the sobs.

She fell to her knees, Benson and Wolf coming down with her. Lio, who was there without Song as she was needed for some calculations on a bridge being built up the river, came to kneel in front of her, and Doge, Dahlia, Asher, Doag, and her father gathered close. Dave huddled between Kipo and Benson, gripping them both as tears started to pour from his own eyes, and it wasn’t long before everyone’s faces were damp with them.

“H-he…” Kipo’s voice rattled, “He was my big brother,” she inhaled unsteadily, “I wish I could have called him that…wish I’d said it to him.”

“He thought the same of you, Kipo.”

She raised her head to a shinny-eyed Wolf.

“Even before that night. He thought of you like a sister.”

She wiped her eyes with a hiccup, “He did?”

Wolf’s mouth twitched with a sad smile, “He did. He told me. Just the same way I do.”

“He taught us somethin’, man,” Dave gave Kipo’s back a pat, “Deep inside…that monkey had a heart of pure gold.”

Kipo sniffed, drying the tears from her eyes and her head slowly rose, “We should have a ceremony…to celebrate Hugo’s life. I won’t give up searching, but if…if we never…” she paused there for a few seconds, then slowly got to her feet, “We’ll have it at his palace…dress up in nice costumes like he would have wanted.”

She smiled, looking to her father, who smiled back, placing a hand on each side of her face and giving her forehead a kiss before resting his against hers, “That’s an excellent idea.”

He gave his daughter a hug, and the group gathered around to comfort their heart broken friend.

~*~*~*~

Never in his life would Hugo have dreamed he would consume this much of anything that had originated from the ocean. He forced down the last bite of salty, three week old fish that he had portioned out for himself. He had luckily found several old salt packets in his center console to preserve the last of the meat with. He probably had one of his ape nobles to thank for that; Gerard, most likely.

But now, rations were wearing thin, and he hadn’t come across an edible thing, plant or animal, in days. He had managed to catch some rainwater; lucky, since the salted fish had quickly dried up, therefore providing him no extra hydration.

Marie Antoinette, his long deceased flamingo, was no longer there to bait scavenging mega fish or birds. He had noticed the car riding lower and lower in the water, fish having eaten away at the underside of her. He realized that she had been the only thing keeping the little craft afloat. He had finally managed to fix both airbags on either side of the car to act as buoys and pried the remains loose to float off to their own destination.

It hadn’t taken long for Hugo to make an attempt at creating some kind of melody with the waterlogged piano. It was certainly better than no music at all. He managed to retune some of the strings, but the stunted sound that came from the keys were still quite lackluster. He almost longed for the twang of a Timbercat banjo.

He did occasionally sing to himself. At times, he felt himself quite manic, and would make up little songs that an only slightly saner version of himself would have found quite idiotic. But they had rendered him helpless with laughter at the time; something he worried a little about later but concluded was much needed.

He wished he had had something to write with, but there wasn’t a utensil in sight, and the only paper was the crinkled, water stained picture of Aurum he still had in his waistcoat pocket. That and used salt packets.

He had also strung together some wind chimes using mega koi scales and string from the air fresheners he had found in the glovebox. They didn’t make the prettiest noise, but it was a pleasant break from nothing but rolling waves.

Hugo chuckled sarcastically at himself as he gave the chimes that were now hung from the rear view mirror a whack, “Oh just look at you, Hugo! Living right smack in the absolute LAP of luxury! Do you think the folks back home will be impressed?!” he leaned over the piano to rest his head on the dash, “Impressed that I’m still living, perhaps.”

He prattled on quietly, delirious as the setting sun cast an intense, pink glow into his squinting eyes, “Let’s keep them impressed, Hugo, old boy…for at least a mite longer.”

He held his star blanket up to the light, admiring the bright purple it turned as pink light hit blue fabric. It was almost the same color as Kipo’s jaguar eyes, gleaming in the darkness of the night. He stared as the fabric fluttered in the ocean breeze, watching shadows ripple.

That was when he noticed something odd. As the wind died down, the blanket flattened, and instead of the pin straight expanse of the ocean creating a darker spot on the blanket in front of him, the once flat horizon peaked up slightly in the center.

His eyes widened as his senses came back to him, and he dropped the blanket to the dash. Out on the horizon was an island.


	4. Chapter 4

The erratic slapping of Hugo’s hand against the water as he attempted to paddle for shore, in hindsight, had most likely been ineffective. But in the moment, in his still stir-crazy mind, it felt like it was making him go faster. He tired himself out long before he would make it, however. The horizon, he soon realized, was much further away than he had once thought.

It was a good four hours before his strange little craft got anywhere close to perceiving much of anything about the island, but when he did, his hopes rose. The island was massive, for all he knew, an entire continent. He could make out a scattering of small architecture, nothing like the massive high-rises of Skyscraper Ridge, but it still promised some manner of life. Hugo was so mesmerized, it nearly gave him palpitations when something hit his vehicle with a thud.

“‘Ay!! No floaters in the reef, land-crawler!!”

“Huh?” Hugo leaned to see who was speaking to him, only to be shocked into silence. Below him was a bustling rainbow of colors and shapes. There were hundreds…thousand of all sorts of marine mutes weaving in and out of a labyrinth of radiant coral. The water was so crystal clear, he could see straight down for what must have been at least thirty feet, and he quickly sat back down in the passenger seat, as actually seeing how deep the water was was much more unnerving than just knowing it in the back of his mind, no matter how much infinitely deeper the actual ocean was.

There was another thud and a squeeeek! as another mute raked the side of the car.

“Hey! You don’t belong here! Get out of our shoals!!”

Hugo, more cautiously this time, craned his head to address the second irritated mute, a porpoise with a fanny pack strapped to her pudgy neck.

“Apologies, madame! I just need to get to shore so I can-”

“Officer! Arrest this baboon!”

Hugo bristled with an affected gasp, “I am NOT a baboon; I’m a MANDRILL! And I’ll kindly thank you not to-”

“Alright, King Kong! Outta the water! Beat it!!” The black and white “officer” fish berated him and blew a shrill whistle.

Before Hugo could begin to reply, his craft was rocked to the point of nearly capsizing as a mega octopus surfaced, and began flailing its massive tentacles to send his vehicle careening toward shore. He could hear angered jeering aimed toward him, and he gripped the door and the seat beneath him as his craft skidded through the surf and onto the shore.

His car came to a nearly instant halt in the sand, and his nose pressed painfully into the windshield before he was tossed back into his seat. Hugo rubbed his aching snout, groaning as he sat up from the slouched position he had been forced into. He quickly saw that he had been lucky enough to stop just short of a substantial piece of driftwood.

“Thanks for the ride, gents!” He leapt to balance himself on the edge of the driver’s side door, holding onto the windshield frame for support as he cupped the other hand to project his voice, “This is exactly where I wanted to go! I’M MUCH ABLIGED!!”

He was barely through with his taunting when a nasally, monotone voice interrupted him, “Sir, I’m gonna have to ask you to move your car, or I’ll have no choice but to tow it.”

Hugo looked through the windshield to see a seagull mute wearing a crooked baseball cap and a heavily stained navy jumpsuit.

“I beg your pardon, but I was most unceremoniously surfed here completely outside of my own control,” he stepped back onto the seat behind him and opened his door to release a stream of seawater before stepping down to the beach with a haughty strut, “AND if you could see beyond that BEAK of yours, you would notice that this vehicle has no wheels to speak of.”

“I’m sorry, sir, but I couldn’t be less emotionally invested if I wanted to… Tough break, I guess.”

With a wave of the gull’s feather wing, Hugo heard loud flapping and turned in time to watch a mega pelican with two heads that would have dwarfed even his own personal flamingo several times over thud to the sand on the other side of the car. The creature lowered one of its heads and opened its beak to reveal a whole pile of mostly metal flotsam and jetsam. Hugo was left uncharacteristically speechless as the beak latched onto his car and engulfed it completely before the bird waddled with heavy steps away from the beach and further inland. It stopped in front of what looked to be a large wall made of garbage that spanned the entire length of the shore as far as Hugo could see both ways, then practically vomited his precious luxury car onto the top of the wall along with the pile of scrap metal.

“Are-you-JOKING?!!” he resisted the urge to stomp his foot, “That convertible is my ONLY mode of transportation!”

The seagull didn’t look up from his clipboard to gave a wide eyed, tight beaked stare at nothing, “Well, you should have thought about that before you bought a car with no wheels.”

Hugo’s eye twitched, and his fur bristled as he clenched his fists in front of him with barred teeth. Before he could retort, the rude mute had ripped the the sheet of paper he had been writing on and held it in front of Hugo’s nose. “If you want it back, sign this and take it to Maggie at the kiosk. Have a nice day.”

Hugo glared daggers at who was now his least favorite mute in the world, raising a hand slowly, then violently snatching the paper from him. “Thank. You.” The words were punctuated in a way which insinuated that in spirit, he was saying something much less kind. He huffed as the bird left to torment some other poor soul and glanced to scan the form he had been handed.

He glared at the entry for “year” where the gull had written “old”. “Old?! That car was a classic, fully restored, in mint condition!” He slapped the back of his hand against the form, “At least it was.”

His eyes scanned over the total for the pickup fee to see scribbled there “five small shells, three medium shells, or one large shell”. That was all? He looked to his feet where there was nothing but a mixture of seashells and sand, and he gave a shrug before scooping up a handful. He sorted through the gritty mixture with a finger to study its contents. There was one shell. Two. Three, four…and five! He dusted the rest off on his coat, taking extra care to make sure none of the sand stuck there, then made his way to the kiosk next to the wall.

Hugo approached the large crab mute behind the counter and tossed the form and the shells in front of her. “I’d like my automobile back, ma’am. The fuchsia convertible with the silver hood ornament of my very own likeness,” he gave a “get going” motion with his hand. “Please and thank you.”

“What the hell are these?” The crab’s voice grated as she put a cigarette out on the counter, but she didn’t budge from her spot, arms crossed and leaned back against her own massive shell.

“Five small shells?” Hugo jabbed a finger to the form, “I believe this is sufficient payment for you to release back to me my vehicle that your DELIGHTFUL little mom and pop operation took right from under my nose.”

“You ain’t from around here, are ya, monkeyshines? These measly little suckers ain’t worth squat. You need a few o’ these bad boys!” She gave the shell behind her a slap, “We’re talkin’ ‘bout conchs, whelks, cones…even a pitiful little nerite would be better than this. How ya ‘spect the young’uns ta keep their keisters covered with a couple’a little, cracked surf clams?” She moved to open the curtained bar flap next to her which revealed a tiny horde of baby hermit crabs, all of different sizes, one skittering out of site with a squeak at being caught mid shell exchange.

“Listen!” Hugo howled, pointing an assertive finger, “THAT car has been with me for a LONG time! If you think I’m about to let it become a BRICK in your wall of RABBLE, YOU ARE SORELY MISTAKEN!!!”

Hugo breathed loudly and rapidly, now hunched forward on his knuckles, but the hermit crab wasn’t at all threatened.

“You ain’t got SHELLS, monkeyshines, then you ain’t got a CAR!!” And with that, she slammed the rolling counter door above them shut, nearly catching the tip of Hugo’s nose on the way down.

He inhaled before releasing something between a snarl and a scream through clenched teeth, then shuddered with a growl before almost immediately composing himself with a proper, upright posture and a stiff, manic smile, “I…HATE it here.”


	5. Chapter 5

Kipo’s shoulders shuddered as she ascended the steps, regal skirt lifted to her ankles, to take her place at the pedestal on which sat Scarlemagne’s grand piano. She cleared her throat shakily as she approached the microphone there.

“Thank you all for being here with my family today,” a soft huff of laughter escaped her at the sight of what must have been nearly every, if NOT, every mute and human in Las Vistas congregated along the polished floors of Scarlemagne’s palace, “Most of you, I know, have terrible memories of the place we stand now. If you hadn’t wanted to be here, none of us would have blamed you in the slightest…and neither would Scarlemagne…”

Kipo’s throat constricted, and she swallowed hard as her eyes moistened, “But you did. You all had it in your hearts to return to awful memories for the sake of forgiveness and compassion that the Oak family couldn’t hope to repay you for in a million years. And I wish so much-” she choked through an involuntary sob, “-that we could express to you how much we appreciate what you’ve done for us…for ALL of us.” She looked to the front row, where her friends and family stood. Mom and dad…Wolf, Mandu, Dave, Benson, Troy…Doag, Dahlia, and Asher.

“Scarlemagne…” her voice cracked, and she bowed her head, several seconds passing in silence before she let the tears flow freely, “HUGO…my FRIEND…my BROTHER…was one of the BRAVEST people I will ever know. I can only imagine the dark places he’s been. The things he had himself convinced he had to do to survive…

“But I was lucky enough to learn who my big brother really is! And that selfless act on that night?! That’s who he truly was inside!” She inhaled sharply and paused to ride out her emotions, “And it saved me…it saved US…”

She watched through bleary eyes as every person also had tears in their eyes, human and mute, and Kipo smiled through her own, “I won’t give up on him. I don’t think he’s gone! But…if he truly is…I want him to be remembered just the way he really was. And that’s why the Newton Wolves have been kind enough to offer a place in front of their observatory for a statue in his honor!” She motioned to Billions, who gave a humbled nod, wiping a tear from his muzzle and stroking the fur of his cured brother next to him.

“Thank you…SO much!” Kipo grimaced, wiping the back of her hand across her eyes, “I know we’re all hurting, but I want this to be a time of celebration of Hugo’s life. I know it’s what he would have wanted,” she looked to her friends again with a sad smile.

“Thank you.”

~*~*~*~

Hugo had been combing the sands through the evening and well into the next morning and hadn’t found anything even as good as the tiny handful of shell he had started with. As the sun rose, he had come to the infuriating conclusion that he was going to have to work for the currency he needed.

So as soon as mutes were up and about, he started asking around. One horseshoe crab heard him out for a short time before quickly explaining that he didn’t need any more help running the arcade he owned on the pier. Another elephant seal couple turned him down at the snow-cone stand. The angler fish at the fishing dock, which puzzled Hugo in particular, was especially snappy and rude, telling him to go inland if he wanted any help at all as a land mammal.

But after rejection after rejection after rejection, it was becoming clear that going inland was his only option, so that’s what he did. He felt the old thrill he had used to in his less virtuous days when he snagged some hotdogs and cans of Explosion Berry soda from the food stand run by three sea cucumbers who had previously sprayed him with sweet relish when he had asked if he could play the old calliope on top of their wagon in exchange for shells.

Hugo wrapped his provisions in his blanket and tied it to the end of a bamboo shoot, adding a couple of red hibiscus blossoms he had found to the knot. As soon as he was set, he was off to a more centralized part of the island.

He thanked his lucky star blanket that his ancestors had been nomads, and thus he was suited to cover a lot of ground in very little time. And though it was still far from a vacation, it was better than being stranded on a car-boat at sea.

His suspicions were confirmed by plenty of old world signage that this was the main island of what was once the archipelago state of Hawaii. He had educated himself well on old world geography and had some idea of what life had been like here, but he could clearly see that just like Las Vistas, there were significant changes. Many palms which would have previously been as tall as fifty feet grew to three and four times the height, and most branched off into more than one trunk. While there were flora of old world sizes, plenty were large enough to fit even two of him in for a comfortable sit.

But as he encountered mutes along the way, he was met with much the same welcome as the ones on the beach. They quickly made it clear that his help was both unneeded and unwanted, and that he should look for help from mutes closer to his own species. This place was more segregated than what Las Vistas used to be. Some of the mega fauna were even worse than Las Vistas’s fair as well. His encounter with a mega centipede, which had a head with snapping jaws on both ends and a row of sharp, two rows of spindly legs along its sides, one row facing down along the bottom and the other inverted on the top, would be relived in his nightmares to come, he was certain.

At what was probably mile eight or nine of the hike, Hugo’s sleeplessness was really starting to catch up with him, and while the hotdogs helped hunger-wise, Explosion Berry was beginning to become less and less efficient at quenching his thirst. This was when he began seriously seeking water and shelter.

He pressed on for about two more miles, searching high and low for any kind of resources. He managed to find a couple of pineapples growing in the shade of some underbrush, which he took for later use. Soon after that, he caught a strange scent in the air that greatly reminded him of human industry. Or perhaps another mute. He had recalled the Scooter Skunks having produced a similar aroma when motoring by. Either way, it could mean shelter.

Hugo didn’t have to walk far before he caught a bright blue spot through the trees. He sighed in relief, “Water! Finally!”

Forgetting his fatigue, he ran on all fours to the beautifully gleaming lake, only stopping at the top of the slightly elevated hill it sat atop of.

He laughed with shrill delight at the vision of the brightest aquamarine he had ever witnessed in his life, “HELLO, GORGEOUS!” He continued without a thought in the world other than quenching his now raging thirst. Completely forgotten was what now should have been an unbearable smell of rotting eggs as he neared the electric shoreline, which was completely devoid of one bit of the dense plant life he had previously been trudging through.

And by the time he had even noticed his own labored breathing and feeling of lightheadedness, he felt a strong grip on his arm that spun him around just as he blacked out and collapsed. Through the haze, he registered something being forced over his mouth and nose, and when his eyes opened one final time before unconsciousness overtook him, peaking through the hood of a large cloak he caught sight of a red and blue muzzle.


	6. Chapter 6

“She’s gonna hurt me again if she finds out.”

Hugo heard the voice clearly. A child’s voice; one that was so familiar, yet he couldn’t begin to fathom who it belonged to. He peered into the corner of the burrow lab; the voice’s owner was there.

“Worse than before, this time.”

He tried hard to focus on the figure in front of him, but as soon as something recognizable started to form, it was sunken back into the shadows and reformed as something else.

“She wants to do something horrible to me.

“To both of us…”

He had heard this before. Hugo stared hard at where the blurred form stood, and though he couldn’t see their face, he knew that he knew them. Knew HER. Another mute. A child mute like him. He WAS a child, wasn’t he?

He opened his mouth, and sure enough, what came out was the much lighter voice of a juvenile mute, “We won’t let her hurt us. We’re getting out of here, and Lio said you’ll be coming too.”

“What if she finds out before then?! She screams at me to talk to her. She shakes my cage to make me speak…one day, something’s gonna slip out…”

Hugo felt a tightness in his chest. He had heard this before. Had this very conversation with this very mute.

“You’ve been so brave already,” he felt soft fur beneath his hands, “You just have to hold out a little longer, C2.”

Hugo felt his stomach churn, and the scene lurched and swirled around him, then he felt like he was being sucked through a funnel much too small for him to fit through. He tried to move his limbs, but they wouldn’t budge. A foul smell invaded his nostrils, and he tasted the bitterness on his tongue. A light pierced his eyelids before he realized that his eyes had been closed.

But he couldn’t open them. He couldn’t move. He tried to scream, but he couldn’t even open his mouth.

“Good! You’re not dead!”

He heard the voice over him, felt a presence next to him. He strained to move and managing a twitch, felt something rough under his head and heard a whine escape his throat.

“Easy, bud! Take it easy.”

There was a hand on his shoulder, barely pressing, and he felt himself calm.

“You passed out…but you’re safe now. We’re away from the lake.”

Hugo was finally able to pry his eyelids open, but he immediately regretted it as the sunlight assaulted his retinas, and he released an involuntary groan.

His eyes were relieved of the sunlight as a figure leaned into his vision, but he yelped at the sight of it. The creature that loomed above him wore a hooded cloak with what must have been a gas mask over its nose and dark, red glasses that hid the eyes. The only thing he could make out behind them was pale yellow and purple-gray fur with a few dark spots scattered across the tops of the cheeks.

“You alright, pal?”

Hugo’s chest heaved as he sat up, “I…I-I think so…”

“Good…then I don’t have to feel bad about telling you what a dumbass you must be for trying to walk right into a sulfuric acid lake.”

Hugo groaned again at the realization that though this mute had been kind enough to save his life, she wasn’t exactly any less rude than the others, “EXCUSE me! But is there anyone on this miserable archipelago with any resemblance of MANNERS?!”

The mute crossed her arms across her chest, “No, I haven’t met any.”

Hugo grumbled as he wobbled onto his feet.

The cloaked mute chuckled, “Sorry, but you should have seen yourself! You were cackling like a maniac and running like you were gonna dive in head first. If you had managed to make it far enough for that, there wouldn’t have been anything left of you but your cuff links.”

Hugo’s shoulders slumped with a sigh and was about to ask for further assistance, but he was interrupted.

“Welp! If ya don’t feel like you’re about to suffocate to death, I’m gonna head on out.” She adjusted something at her shoulder hidden in the folds of her cloak, which must have been the strap to the tank he could now see on her back that the hose of her mask attached to. “So, in case I don’t see ya, good afternoon, good evening, and goodnight.”

“Wait!” Before Hugo realized he had moved, his hand was on her arm, and he quickly realized that it was somewhat uncomfortable speaking to someone whose only emotional tell was their eyebrows. At least they were rather bushy and prominent…

“I was hoping to find a spot of help. I’m trying to get back across the ocean…where I came from, and my boat has unfortunately been commandeered by some rather nasty mutes. I need shells to get it back, and I’m more than willing to work for them, so if there’s anything I can-”

“I wouldn’t have any shells; I’m a land mute,” she explained with a small laugh, “See, shells are sea dweller currency; they only use it along the beach and in the reef. And unfortunately, they don’t care too much for me over there, so…”

Hugo chuffed, “Well, there MUST be some way for me to return home…perhaps another boat…”

The cloaked mute shook her head, “Any boats left are a part of that trash wall…or belong to mutes you definitely don’t wanna mess with.”

Hugo felt panic setting in. He felt hot. “W-well…do you at least have a place I could stay for the night? I’ve been awake for…thirty six hours now?! If I have to go ANOTHER hour of consciousness, I think I might LOSE it.”

Her eyebrows were now raised in a clear expression of concern, whether for Hugo’s sanity or her own well being, “Well…you could try the Boogie Bonobos just five miles north. They’re…PRETTY intense but hospitable. They’ll be happy to help a fellow primate.”

Hugo’s breath came quicker at the thought of walking another five miles. He wiped his forehead then stared at the pink sweat on his hand. He glanced from beneath a lowered brow, “But you’re a primate too.”

The female mute stiffened visibly, “I…what?”

“You’re a mandrill like me,” he smirked at the realization that she hadn’t wanted him to know, and grasped his hands behind his back, “I saw the colors on your nose before I blacked out. You have an unusual pattern on your legs for one, but there’s no other mammal with a muzzle these colors.” He tapped his own nose for emphasis, “Now if this place is so fond of sticking to one’s own kind…well…I can’t get any closer than you. And I know a mute with resources when I see one.”

She sighed steadily, straightening herself as she seemed to regain confidence, “I work alone, and that’s for the best for both of us. And you didn’t see what you thought you saw.”

Hugo chuckled heartily wagging a finger, old deviousness habitually seeping into his voice, “Don’t you try gaslighting me; I’m quite familiar with the tactic.”

The masked mute seemed unreactive until she through her hands up, “Alright, fine!” She reached up to place both hands at the sides of her gas mask and removed it, revealing the ridged, red and blue muzzle he knew he had seen. It wasn’t as bright as his, the red was a bit more on the orange side and the blue was lighter, which could easily be chalked up to sexual dimorphism, as could her significantly less stocky build.

“Ya got me…” she tilted her head in mock amusement, “But it doesn’t change the fact that I can’t help you.”

Hugo, while still annoyed, almost delighted in the challenge as he smiled, “Have you ever met another mandrill before?”

“No. Congrats, you’re the first!”

Good, Hugo thought as he lifted his hand. “Do you have anything like this?”

She leaned only a bit closer, and Hugo had to force himself not to flick his hand and cover her in his pheromones. It was only a threat; he would keep his promise to Kipo.

“Pink sweat? No, I don’t think so.”

“I thought perhaps not,” he smirked, “It just so happens that this sweat contains a rather concentrated portion of pheromones that when met with the skin of another primate, allows me to control their every move for a time. So…” he swiped a hand to his forehead again, picking up more sweat, “…if you refuse to lend a helping hand, I’ll have to TAKE it instead.” He held his hand at eye level in a position to flick the pink liquid directly into the other mute’s face. “Do we have an understanding?”

The cloaked mute remained silent for a moment before a quite laughter escaped her lips that crescendoed into a genuine belly laugh. Had Hugo not been so taken aback, he would have thought more about how familiar it seemed. He quite liked that laugh.

“That’s rich! Are you being serious right now? Seriously! I can’t tell! You’re a GREAT actor!”

Hugo wavered for only a moment before puffing out his chest, “Serious as a heart attack…”

The female mute’s laughter calmed but her mouth still twitched with mirth, “Don’t you know what pheromones are for?! They might have a mind control effect of a sort on a female mandrill, but it’s not the kind YOU’RE thinking, I PROMISE.”

He swiveled his jaw, ignoring the heat rising in his cheeks, “Fine! Why don’t we just test it out, then?”

He stepped closer, placing his readied hand directly in front of her nose. She arched a dark brow but didn’t move otherwise.

“Last chance to willingly comply.”

Her mouth formed a straight line, and she gave a shallow shake of her head.

“Alright! I’m going to do it now!”

Both brows raised now, she gave a shake of her head in the affirmative with a stiff smile.

Hugo gritted his teeth, sorely tempted to actually do it but holding out for the empty threat to somehow work. Finally, though, he jerked his hand down to his side with an offended huff.

“Called your bluff,” she pointed a mocking, gloved finger.

“I wasn’t bluff-” he gave a start, “Ok, it WAS a bluff, but my pheromones DO control other primates!” He placed his fists moodily onto his hips, “I just promised someone I wouldn’t use it!”

“Sure…”

Hugo pouted, “I did! It’s a gentleman’s oath that I made to someone very important to me.”

“Why would you promise someone not to use something as useful as that?”

He glared, “Because supposedly controlling someone’s mind is “wrong”,” he finger quoted the word, “and I value their opinions very much.”

She seemed to consider this before shrugging, “Shame…I was honestly curious how that would go…” she sighed, “Alright…come on.”

Hugo blinked, “Y…you’re letting me come with you?”

“YEAH,” she seemed a bit disappointed with her own decision, “Just cause you’re coming across like such a pathetic, sad, little monkey…”

His shoulders sloped before following her, “Oh, thanks…”

“AND,” she spun around to walk backwards facing him, “because I’m a VERY good judge of character, and you’re a decent mute.”

“I’M a decent mute?” his eyes shifted, “You ARE still speaking about me, right?”

Her mouth cracked into a smile, a real one this time, and she spun again to face forward. He felt heat in his head again, and he shook it abruptly.

“What’s your name?”

Hugo was surprised that he hadn’t thought to ask her the same question much sooner. “Scarle-” he stopped, realizing what he was about to say, “…Hugo. Hugo Oak.”

“Woah! A first AND a last name? Guess I should have figured with the fancy Rococo period threads.”

Hugo felt a leap in his chest, “You recognize them?”

“I like documentaries… Mine’s Cai, by the way; picked it myself.”

“Cai…” he tested it, musing on how big a flip in tone this interaction had made.

They approached an old, very well used pickup truck, “This is our ride.”

Hugo sighed in deep relief, “Splendid! I don’t think I could walk another inch.” He reached for the passenger’s side handle to find it locked.

“Hang on. That one only opens from the inside,” she hopped in her side, and leaned to pop his door open.

He settled in, realizing that he had never actually ridden in a normally functioning car.

“Buckle up, Buttercup.”

Hugo wasn’t given the time to do this as the engine roared, and he yelped when Cai peeled out into the forest.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Lil’ Tubersteins” is from Ava Ryan when she was on Vine; unfortunately, I did not come up with that name.

As soon as the keys had entered the ignition and his eardrums were blasted with a couple hundred decibels of industrial metal, Hugo knew that this would not be a leisurely drive. He braced himself against the dash as the tires ground into the earth leaving a dirt cloud behind them. A frantic grasp for a seatbelt confirmed that there wasn’t one.

Hugo caught a sideways glance from the gap between her face and her glasses as Cai smirked. From what he could see, her eyes appeared purple, but that was probably due to the reflection of the red lenses. They could have been blue, maybe light brown.

She turned to look directly at him and yelled something he could hear, but couldn’t make sense of.

“WHAT?!” he cupped a hand around his ear but had to return it to brace himself against the dash again as the truck plowed over what must have been a full size log.

She laughed, which he could hear even over the cacophony through the radio before she switched the track to a much mellower slow jazz, “Sorry! I forget most other mutes hate loud music. So! How’d you wind up in the middle of the ocean? I didn’t think most primates were particularly fond of water.”

“This one certainly isn’t,” he slowly lowered his hands from the dash as Cai seemed to be driving a little more cautiously, “It’s a rather long story, though.”

“Right…you’ll probably wanna rest before getting into all that. OH!” Cai reached around to rummage through a dirt stained cooler in the back seat before handing him a thermos. “This should have a pH a little more to your liking.”

Yellow eyes bulged as Hugo took it and fumbled with the cap, splashing some of the cold water out as he downed it in seconds.

“Woah! Slow down, Speed Racer! You’ll make yourself vom doing that!”

Hugo calmed his gasping breath, leaning back against the seat with closed eyes and taking a moment to enjoy the last of the cool fluid running down his throat. It was several seconds before he felt eyes on him and reopened his to see Cai staring with a grin. He quickly righted himself and wiped the dribbled water from his beard.

“There should be one more in there I think…if you want it.”

Hugo nodded vigorously, “Yes, please,” and turned to dig through half melted ice to find another thermos.

“And slow your roll!” she chortled, “I don’t want puke on the upholstery!”

He had been about to down this one the same as the last but decided she was probably right and attempted to pace himself. As he took small sips, the markings on Cai’s exposed leg caught his eye. Jagged stripes and irregular spots tapered from beneath her open cloak nearly to her knee. He had pointed them out before but hadn’t had the time to really consider why a mandrill might have such markings. Perhaps the mutagen that changed her ancestors was a bit different than the one used on him in the burrow lab. Or maybe it could have to do with cross breeding between similar mutes…

“There’s plenty more water at home if you need it.”

He was shaken from his musings, and felt his face grow hot, wondering if she had caught him staring.

“Stuff to eat too. We’ll be there in a second; it’s just up the road here.”

Hugo glanced out the window as they came through the trees and onto an actual paved road. This was starting to look a bit more like some areas of Las Vistas; old, overgrown buildings, sagging power lines, all the remnants of a long gone civilization.

“You said you live alone?”

Cai shrugged, “Sort of…”

Hugo was about to ask what she meant by that before she pulled the truck over into a large parking lot. In front of them was a large stone building, probably almost the size of his palace, covered in the usual greenery and flora that had consumed most man made structures. A couple of trees stuck up from the roof, large, but practically saplings compared to what the full height of a mutated tree would eventually become. An eroded, engraved stone face next to the entrance read “Halemaumau Public Library”.

“You live here? Alone?”

“I know! Pretty lucky…” She shifted into park and turned off the truck, opening the door to get out.

Hugo followed, taking in the scenery. In front of the entrance was what must have once been a fountain, now just a sheet of orange and blue stained glass that had been shattered at the top standing in the middle of a large basin with stair-stepped, roughly cubbed out rocks around it. As they rounded the other side, the glass glowed as the sun shown through from the other side.

That was when he heard stomping.

“Op!” Cai gave a nod, “Here comes my security system.”

As the stomping grew louder, it soon grew faster, and from around the corner of the library, a blue, triangular head appeared, with four bulging, golden eyes. 

“Gertie!”

Slitted pupils darted from Cai to Hugo, and he felt the fur stand up along his back as the mega mute’s head rose up on an impossibly long neck to open its mouth into a rattling hiss.

“It’s ok, Gertie; he’s with me!”

The giant gecko seemed satisfied with her response and lowered its head again before licking all four eyes at once with four separate tongues. Hugo stopped himself from jumping when Cai nudged his shoulder with hers, motioning to follow her to the massive double doors.

The blue glass doors were fogged, further blurring the inside, and when Cai opened one, a warm vapor escaped. Hugo’s eyes widened as they were both covered in a coating of condensation. He shook his mane, only for it to floof out into even more of a disheveled mess, which Cai politely pretended not to notice as she stepped ahead of him into the library.

The inside was a veritable rain forest. Tropical plants and trees had completely overtaken the empty shelves, and the front desk was buried under the roots of one of the trees that sprouted up into the ceiling. He also thought he heard the sound of moving water.

“Pretty nifty, idn’t it?”

“Yes, NIFTY…” Hugo shook his head again, droplets of water scattering from wildly frizzing fur, “…and WET…”

Cai smirked and motioned for him to continue around the tree with her, “Don’t worry, the other rooms aren’t nearly as humid.”

Empty shelves littered the expansive room, many toppled like dominoes and some shattered and disassembled. Some had been used to build platforms to the upper level next to a demolished staircase.

As they rounded the debris, the whole floor along the back side of the building was hollowed out to make room for a stream to flow through from outside. And around it were five more mega mutes all acknowledging their presence but seeming to mind their own business: an eight limbed sea turtle; two multi-eyed and horned chameleons; a bat with four wings and two mouths, one on top of the other; and a six winged, four legged macaw.

“That’s Morla, Thing 1 and Thing 2, King Gidora, and Edgar,” she pointed them out in order.

There was a discontented grunt followed by a yelp from Edgar before he flew to perch on the ledge of the second floor, and Hugo gasped. A perfectly average, completely normal sized walrus lumbered forward to take his place.

“Aaand Lil’ Tubersteins got here a couple weeks ago,” Cai seemed a little uneasy at the comparatively small animal, “No one messes with Lil’ Tubersteins. He’s got some serious inner demons he’s working out, I think.”

Hugo took a sudden step to stand next to Cai, “WHERE did you find that?”

Cai shrugged, “He found US. That’s how any mute ends up here. He must have swam upstream from the ocean. I guess there ARE a few non-mute animals left out there…”

Hugo shook his head, “Not ones that weren’t mutes before…”

If Cai hadn’t still been wearing her sunglasses, he would have seen her eyes widen, “That’s sinister and off-putting… It sounds like you’ve got experience.”

“More than I’d like to have…” he trailed off as he couldn’t muffle a yawn.

“You can tell me about it after nap time…” She placed a hand on his shoulder and led him toward the makeshift staircase, “I’ll show you where you can sleep.”


End file.
